Showing posts with label planning LFP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label planning LFP. Show all posts

LFP Leadership plan to attend the Comp Plan Open House on July 16, 2024

Thursday, July 11, 2024

Lake Forest Park Planning Commission in a recent session

Lake Forest Park has issued notice that a quorum of the city council, as well as the Planning Commission, Climate Action Committee, Tree Board, and Parks & Recreation Advisory Board plan to attend the Comprehensive Plan Open House on July 16, 2024.

City of Lake Forest Park Comprehensive Plan Periodic Update Open House
Tuesday, July 16, 2024, 4:00pm – 7:00pm

The City of Lake Forest Park’s decennial Comprehensive Plan periodic update is well under way, now into its second year.

The active update effort is required by state law to address recent legislative changes, new King County Countywide Planning Policies (CPPs), and the Puget Sound Regional Council's (PSRC) VISION 2050. 

Collectively, there are new requirements and policies that change the ways we plan for housing, address the needs of vulnerable residents, and incorporate climate planning. 

The open house for the community is hosted by the City's Planning Commission. The open house is an informal setting to learn about the update, ask questions, and give feedback to the Commissioners as a check-in at this point in the process. 

The Commission has reviewed the existing goals and policies in the adopted 2015 Comprehensive Plan and made draft amendments to each element. 

Before the Commission holds a noticed public hearing and makes a recommendation to the City Council, the open house is an opportunity to update and check in with the community on this important effort.


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Vacancies on City of LFP Planning Commission

Friday, December 2, 2022

The Planning Commission makes recommendations to the City Council on issues relating to land use policy and regulations. 

Over the next two years, the Commission will be working on updating the City’s comprehensive plan. Some of the issues that need to be addressed in this update are equity, housing affordability, and climate change. 

There is one vacancy currently and another will become open in March 2023. The City hopes to fill these vacancies with individuals that will provide perspectives that are currently under-represented on the Commission. Diversity in this case could be race, age, gender, ethnic, or socioeconomic background.

Commissioners are appointed by the Mayor. Members of the Planning Commission serve for three years. If you are interested in serving on the Commission, please submit the online application. For more information about the Planning Commission, contact Stephen Bennett, Planning Director at 206-957-2812.



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LFP Planning Commission to discuss comp plan

Saturday, October 15, 2022

A special meeting of the Lake Forest Park Planning Commission will be held on Tuesday, October 18, 2022 at 7pm in a hybrid format - both in person at city hall and online on Zoom. 

Commissioners will begin to discuss updates to the city's comprehensive plan.


Correction: photo previously published was not the LFP Planning Commission




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UPDATE: MEETING CANCELLED LFP Planning Commission meeting August 9, 2022

Saturday, August 6, 2022

 UPDATE: This meeting has been canceled due to a lack of quorum.

LFP Planning Commission Meeting (hybrid meeting) Tuesday, August 9, 2022, 7-9pm

This meeting will be held in person at LFP City Hall and virtually, via Zoom. Please review information provided on the agenda, once it is available, for details on how to participate in the meeting via Zoom.

Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84735061045 

8-9-22_PC Packet includes full agenda, dial in instructions, and information on making comments.

  • Sign Code Update - Review of draft memorandum to Council to accompany recommended code amendments • 
  • Reasonable Use Exception Code Update – Review draft code amendment revised in response to Commission discussion at last meeting

LFP City Hall 
17425 Ballinger Way NE
Lake Forest Park, WA 98155


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LFP Planning Commission Public Hearing on proposed sign code update Tuesday

Sunday, June 12, 2022

The Lake Forest Park Planning Commission is holding a public hearing on potential changes to the City’s sign regulations on Tuesday June 14, 2022 at 7:00pm - in person and online.

Example of temporary sign from previous year
The Commission has been working with the City Attorney on a set of recommendations to the City Council that are necessary to bring the City’s signage regulations into compliance with federal case law regarding free speech.

Many sections of the City’s existing sign regulations regulate content (or speech), meaning that you have to read a sign to determine how it will be regulated. Those sections have been amended with draft language that addresses the physical characteristics instead of the content of the sign. 

For example, there is currently a definition in the sign code for ‘Celebration signs’ which defines such signs by the kinds of words that would appear in the sign (‘celebration of business anniversaries or announcing major sales’). That definition is slated to be replaced with a more generic term such as ‘portable sign’ or ‘temporary sign,’ depending on the context.

While those content-based amendments are primarily intended to change the way signs are regulated, the Commission’s current draft only includes one new provision that would significantly change the signage which businesses or residents are allowed to have. 

This change would allow interior businesses in the Town Center to have signs on the exterior of the building. The current regulations only allowed those businesses to be identified on the signs at the vehicular and pedestrian entrances to the shopping center.

The Commission hopes you will take some time to review the draft changes that can be accessed through this link to the Public Hearing Notice

Comments can be provided in writing or via Zoom during the meeting (instructions for both are also in the public hearing notice). Members of the public may also attend the meeting and comment in person at City Hall on Tuesday, June 14, at 7:00pm.



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LFP Planning Commission will meet virtually on May 10

Sunday, May 8, 2022

The Lake Forest Park Planning Commission will meet virtually on Tuesday, May 10, 2022 from 7-9pm.

Documents and link to meeting link will be added to the calendar on Monday, the day before the meeting.


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LFP Planning Commission begins review of potential changes to City’s Sign Regulations

Friday, February 4, 2022

Sale markus-spiske-5UJbKYUjFCk-unsplash.jpg
At its Tuesday February 8, 2022 meeting, which begins at 7:00pm, the Planning Commission will begin review of potential changes to the City’s sign regulations. 

The Commission is working with the City Attorney to understand and make recommendations to the City Council on changes that are necessary to bring the City’s signage regulations into compliance with federal case law regarding free speech.

Most sections of the City’s existing sign regulations regulate content (or speech), meaning that you have to read a sign to determine how it will be regulated. Those sections must be amended or replaced with language that addresses the physical characteristics instead of the content of the sign. 

For example, there is currently a definition in the sign code for ‘Celebration signs.’ It is defined by the kinds of words that would appear in the sign (‘celebration of business anniversaries or announcing major sales’). 

That definition needs to be replaced with more generic ones such as ‘portable sign’ or ‘temporary sign,’ both of which are included as proposed amendments that the Commission will review on February 8.

If you own or run a business in Lake Forest Park, this could be of particular interest to you. 

The Commission hopes you will take some time to review the information and draft changes found at the link below and join the Zoom meeting and share your opinion. Instructions for joining the meeting are included on the second page of the agenda which is the first item in the packet found at this link.

https://www.cityoflfp.com/Calendar.aspx?EID=2289



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LFP Planning Commission recommends changes to Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) regulations

Thursday, December 16, 2021

Example of one type of Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU)
Over the past few years, the Lake Forest Park City Council and staff have heard from residents that the Accessory Dwelling Unit regulations are very restrictive, including preventing the building of detached units in front or side yards, even though many of the single-family homes in LFP are built in the rear of the property.
 
In theory, an ADU may be created as a separate unit within an existing home (in an attic or basement), an addition to the home (a separate unit with separate entrance), or in a separate structure on the lot (also known as a detached ADU or DADU).
 
The Planning Commission reviewed the current regulations and surveyed the community about the issue. After thoughtful discussions at meetings over the summer and fall, the Commission has forwarded its recommendations to the Council, which began discussions at a special meeting on November 4, 2021.
 
The Planning Commission has made several key recommendations, including 
  1. removal of the rear-yard restriction,
  2. raising the height restriction to 25 feet to allow building an apartment on top of a garage or other structure, and 
  3. allowing both an ADU and a DADU on lots of one acre or more. The City Council will continue discussion of the Commission’s recommendations at upcoming meetings and will likely hold a public hearing on them early next year.


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LFP Council Corner – Planning Commission’s recommendations for ADU Code to be discussed at November 4 meeting

Saturday, October 30, 2021

LFP Deputy Mayor Phillippa Kassover
By Lake Forest Park Deputy Mayor Phillippa Kassover

We are all aware that housing shortages in our region are driving the cost of homes out of reach to many young families, empty nesters, and retirees. 

Elected officials throughout the Puget Sound area have been grappling with how to increase the number of housing units to accommodate the growth of our region’s workforce and the needs of those with lower or fixed incomes, without destroying the essential character of our cities, towns, and neighborhoods. 

Many of our neighboring cities have created special Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) zones along transit corridors, near stops and stations, which allow more density than in other neighborhoods.

Here in Lake Forest Park, the Council approved the addition of 250 units in the Town Center property, adjacent to the SR 522 Bus Rapid Transit station, with requirements for affordable units. The Council also approved an ordinance offering tax incentives to all LFP multifamily property owners and developers who include a percentage of affordable units in their buildings.

To meet our community values of providing diverse housing options, while preserving the climate resilience provided by our valuable urban forest, the Council also asked the Planning Commission to review our Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) ordinance, which allows the inclusion of apartments in the main house or the addition of a detached cottage (DADU) on the property. 

Over the past few years, Council had heard from a variety of homeowners that the current ordinance was very restrictive, including preventing the building of detached units in front or side yards, even though many of our homes in LFP are built in the rear of the property.

Over this past summer, the Planning Commission thoroughly reviewed the ordinance and surveyed the community about the issue. After much thoughtful discussion, the Commission has now forwarded its recommendations to the Council, which will begin discussions at a special meeting at 7pm on Thursday, November 4, 2021.

The Planning Commission has made several key recommendations, including:
  1. removal of the rear-yard restriction, 
  2. continuation of the current owner-occupancy requirements, 
  3. raising the height restriction to 25 feet to allow building an apartment on top of a garage or other structure, and 
  4. allowing both an ADU and a DADU on larger lots of one acre or more.

Click here to learn more about the survey findings and the Commission’s work.

As always, the City Council encourages all residents with an interest in these issues to tune in to our meetings and to make public comment or email the Council



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Lake Forest Park seeking volunteers for City's Planning Commission

Thursday, October 28, 2021

Photo courtesy City of LP
The City of Lake Forest Park is currently seeking volunteers to fill two vacancies on the City's Planning Commission. 

The Planning Commission is a nine-person board made up of Lake Forest Park residents who review and make recommendations to the City Council regarding the City’s land use policy and updates to development codes.

The Planning Commission meets on the second Tuesday of the month, from 7:00 to 9:00pm. The Commission’s workload will occasionally require a second or third meeting per month.

Recently, the Planning Commission has recommended revisions to the City’s Town Center regulations and design guideline provisions, and to the accessory dwelling unit and accessory building regulations. In the coming year, it is anticipated the Commission will consider updates to the sign regulations.

While there are no formal qualifications required to be a Planning Commissioner, citizens with a background or strong interest in city planning, architectural design, or environmental systems often find the work of the Commission rewarding. 

The primary qualifications are to be open to perspectives other than your own and be willing to learn about and work collaboratively with your fellow Commissioners on complex issues.

If you are interested, please contact Planning Director Steve Bennett by email or phone, 206-957-2812.



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LFP Planning Commission introduces three new commissioners

Thursday, March 25, 2021

Lois Lee
By Tracy Furutani

“I do have an agenda, which is a comprehensive sidewalk plan that can be integrated into everything, but primarily the Town Center Vision,” said Lois Lee, one of three new members of the Lake Forest Park Planning Commission introduced at a commission meeting last Tuesday. 

David Kleweno
The other two commissioners are David Kleweno and Melissa Cranmer. They had been confirmed unanimously by the Lake Forest Park City Council at the regular council meeting March 11, 2021.

Kleweno, who had previously served the city as the vice-chair of the LFP Tree Board, said, “I was looking at what’s next, and the Planning Commission is where I think I can make a pretty big difference in my next stint in volunteering.” 

He is a twenty-year resident whose wife grew up in the city, and they returned to raise their family.

Melissa Cranmer
Cranmer is a medical writer and a substitute para-educator, whose family “moved here from Arizona five years ago… and we found Lake Forest Park completely on accident.” She was looking for a good place to raise her children “and Lake Forest Park seemed like a good one, so that’s why we chose it. We’re really happy with that decision.”

“I see a lot of opportunity for growth and improvement here,” she said. “There was things as a new resident that I had to navigate that sometimes I still feel like I’m navigating a little bit.”

Lee is a dentist who grew up in the area after emigrating from Korea. She sees her time on the commission as a chance to “help shape our living environment.”



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LFP Officials defend proposed Town Center zoning changes

Monday, February 8, 2021

Town Center photo by Steven H. Robinson

By Tracy Furutani

City leaders in Lake Forest Park strongly defended proposed Town Center zoning changes against a strongly-worded letter from the Town Center owner critical of those changes.

“We listen very carefully to what the citizens say,” said LFP Deputy Mayor and councilmember Phillippa Kassover. “I think what [zoning code changes] you’ll see is all based on what we heard from the community.”

“We recognize the extensive effort that has gone into the preparation of these code changes,” said Jamas Gwilliam, vice-president of development at MerloneGeier Partners, the owner of the Town Center property, in the letter dated January 14, 

“but continue to believe that the City has either chosen to ignore our comments calling for a balanced set of development standards for the Town Center, or has knowingly adopted a position that is fundamentally at odds with our ownership interests.”

“The Council's first priority is to protect the interest of Lake Forest Park citizens and the current draft code reflects that,” said Planning Director Stephen Bennett. 

“The current draft also creates many opportunities for MerloneGeier to obtain some flexibility through the negotiation of a development agreement with LFP. MerloneGeier has done that for their project in the Shoreline and they may need to consider taking that approach in Lake Forest Park as well.”

On MerloneGeier’s Town Center blog, they state, “The incorporation of housing (affordable and market rate), open space, enhanced sustainability measures and all of the associated public benefits, will not come to fruition based on the code that has resulted from this process.”

Mayor Jeff Johnson was disappointed by the potential loss of public benefit, including environmental mitigation. “It was really a bummer… we had an opportunity to work together on wastewater runoff and stream quality,” he said.

“The city’s finances have never been a driving factor in this,” said Kassover, commenting on the fiscal effect of non-development. 

“It just simply isn’t an issue for us at all. We don’t make decisions about development based on finances, but based on what’s good for our community.”

MerloneGeier did not respond to requests for clarification about their plans for Town Center.

The City Council will have a work session at 6pm Thursday, in which Bennett and the city planning staff will present the final draft of the zoning code changes. This session will be followed by the regular council meeting at 7pm.

There will be a further Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting on Tuesday, February 16, followed by another COW meeting on Monday, February 22

The city council plans to hold a final public hearing on Thursday, February 25, before adopting the zoning code changes in time to meet the deadline of the moratorium on Town Center development expiring in March.

Kassover was pleased that the proposed zoning code changes were not just about Town Center. 

“I’m really glad that the council was addressing affordable housing in the plan,” she said. “I’m really excited the multifamily tax exemption chapter will affect other areas other than Town Center,” such as areas along Bothell Way near Southern Gateway, and along Ballinger Way.

She struck a final conciliatory note: “I very much hope that, when we have a final document, MerloneGeier will feel as excited about the future of Town Center and its possibilities and potential for a really forward-looking exquisitely environmentally sensitively designed commercial and residential space.”

Updated 2-9-21 to correct Kassover quote


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LFP City Council COW will continue discussion of draft code and design amendments for parking garage

Saturday, November 21, 2020

The Lake Forest Park City Council Committee of the Whole will meet virtually on Monday, November 23, 2020 at 6pm

They will continue review of draft code and design guideline amendments to Planning Commission recommendations regarding the Free-standing Parking Structures and the Administrative Process, and review of Commission's new recommendations.

See the agenda for links to staff documents, and instructions on making comments.

Link to the meeting: https://zoom.us/j/94593763552




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Preliminary design released for LFP Town Center Parking Garage

Thursday, November 19, 2020

Garage plan of the view looking down onto the structure, with north (and Ballinger Way) at the top. Courtesy Sound Transit
 

By Tracy Furutani

A “very preliminary” set of drawings of the proposed Lake Forest Park Town Center commuter garage were presented by representatives of Sound Transit at the LFP City Council Committee of the Whole meeting on November 9, 2020. 

These “10 percent design” drawings show a five-level structure situated on the footprint of the current Professional Building (adjacent to City Hall) and the parking lot immediately north. The proposed garage would contain 300 parking stalls.

“There’s still strong support for the parking garage [for commuter use], according to the survey at the open house Sound Transit held in August,” said Paul Cornish, Sound Transit’s Bus Rapid Transit Project Director. He also presented a timeline for the rest of the project, with the final design being finished in mid-2023, and the construction being completed in 2026.

Because of the pandemic and its effect on revenues, Sound Transit is undergoing a “realignment,” during which its Board of Directors determines which projects will continue and what changes to timelines must occur. 

“We’re at 10 percent design and on a hold,” said Cornish, “we will wait for the realignment process as we work with the Sound Transit Board,” and does not expect the project to go further until late 2021. “We have a little time to work on this,” he said.

Garage elevation. The view looking east towards the proposed structure. Courtesy Sound Transit.

Jamie Brinkley, a sustainability planner with Sound Transit, and Amy Shatzkin, Sound Transit’s Deputy Director for Environmental Affairs and Sustainability, presented parts of the Design Criteria Manual (DCM) that Sound Transit uses for its projects, including standards on sustainability, such as lighting efficiency, stormwater management and low-water landscaping.

Other elements that may be considered in the final design are solar power installations, a green roof and walls, and the use of low-carbon concrete.

City Council members peppered the Sound Transit team with questions about the design and its alignment with community values.

“The city has demonstrated a deep concern for the protection of the environment,” said Deputy Mayor and Councilmember Phillippa Kassover. 
“Because of these deeply held community values which include the support of pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure as well as mass transit, and the location of this garage, at the bottom of the Lyon and McKinnon Creek watersheds, which is above an aquifer, and within sight of the lakeshore, this Council has been asking a lot of questions about how we can partner with Sound Transit to ensure that the proposed parking garage reflects our common values around sustainability.”

“[The community wants] something iconic and joyful, not something we are putting up with,” said Councilmember Semra Riddle. “We want things to be ‘future-proof’,” she added, so if the need for parking decreases dramatically in the future, “[we] don’t want a derelict large building.” Councilmember Tom French “[encouraged] the project to be so green the region would be proud of it.”

Sound Transit appears to be committed to working with the city on the design. When Kassover asked about the use of cross-laminated timber in the structure, Shatzkin replied that, though that material does not appear in the DCM, she would have her engineers investigate its use in this project.

Council concerns about the height of the structure seem to have been met by Sound Transit. Councilmember Mark Phillips said “[the garage’s] height seems to be in line with citizens' comments about a structure that does not dominate the landscape.”

“We are currently finalizing our municipal code as it pertains to the parking garage,” said Kassover, stating that she intends to hold Sound Transit accountable for following their own sustainability requirements, as well as the city’s rules.

The changes to the city’s zoning code as it pertains to the proposed parking garage will be discussed further at a special meeting of the City Council Committee of the Whole at 6pm on Monday, November 23, on the Zoom platform.



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Lake Forest Park Town Center process gears up for final push

Friday, November 6, 2020

A conceptual map shows potential open space distribution
in a Town Center redevelopment, taken from a draft Town
Center Framework Design Guidelines Update, dated May 5


By Tracy Furutani

After passing two moratoriums to allow thorough consideration by city staff and the Planning Commission and to accommodate pandemic-related delays, the Lake Forest Park City Council is poised to take action in November on beginning the process of implementing changes to city zoning code to allow applications for work on the Sound Transit parking garage and the redevelopment of the Town Center.

Though City Council votes on finalizing these code changes will not take place until next February, the city is required to submit proposed code changes to the state Department of Commerce 60 days in advance of adopting any of the changes, according to city Planning Director Stephen Bennett, which means in order to beat the latest moratorium expiration date, they must be forwarded to the state by January 10, 2021. 

However, the proposal may include different options of those code changes, though the final code revisions must be drawn from those options.

According to city’s schedule, at a special Committee of the Whole city council meeting at 6pm on Monday, November 9, a Sound Transit representative is making a presentation about the parking garage and Sound Transit’s sustainability policy, such as green building practices. 

“I would like them to come talk about how deep these policies go,” said Deputy Mayor and Councilmember Phillippa Kassover, “so we can match city code with their policies,” adding that she would like to hold Sound Transit accountable to their own sustainability policy.

The next evening at 7pm, the Planning Commission will decide on its final recommendations about “Phase 2,” the part of the Town Center zoning code revisions not related to the parking garage, including issues of housing density (the number of residential units on the property) and open space requirements. 

Those recommendations will be presented by the City Planning Department at a city council work session at 6pm on Thursday, November 12, just before the regularly scheduled City Council meeting.

Though a public comment period is part of every city meeting, there will be two specific City Council regular business meetings dedicated to public comment: the first, at 7pm on Thursday, November 12, will be for the proposed parking garage code revisions, and the second, scheduled for Thursday, January 14, for the proposed “Phase 2” changes.

The Planning Commission’s parking garage code revision recommendations were presented to the City Council in June. The city council is tentatively scheduled to meet as the Committee of the Whole on Monday, November 23 to review the Parking Garage code revision recommendations.

When asked what she thought were the most significant changes in the proposed code revision, Kassover said, “Just the fact that there’s a garage, the inclusion of a park and ride at Town Center.” 

She added that she had posed questions to the Planning Commission, such as how much housing density in the Town Center was desirable and what provisions for open space were possible. “Open space is a climate change issue,” she said, emphasizing the zoning code connection to other city priorities.

“I think the most significant change we are recommending to the council… is the addition of language that defines and guides development of a parking structure in Town Center,” said Maddy Larson, the chair of the Planning Commission. 
“We have also made recommendations for the administration of any development application; however, I feel those recommendations depend on the council's thorough vetting of them since we did not resolve a few concerns a few commissioners had about the recommendations.” 
She hopes “the community is invested in any proposed changes to our Town Center code. Doing so ensures we end up with code that reflects our values.”

City council vice-chair Tom French, who is the council liaison to the Planning Commission, said that the Council was transitioning from deliberating over parking garage code revisions to considering the rest of the Town Center zoning code revisions. 

“I do not believe there will be wholesale changes to the code,” he said, because “the community has said that there don’t need to be such changes.” 
Beyond that, though, he hoped that what modifications made to the code would bring “benefits and considerations to the community is a whole,” such as having better standards than state and federal rules on pollution, thinking about a community gathering space beyond Third Place Commons, and providing more opportunities for green space.

Due to the state’s “Safer at Home” pandemic policies, all of these meetings will be held on the Zoom platform. 

To provide a comment on any of these topics to the city council, go to the city events calendar at https://www.cityoflfp.com/calendar.aspx?CID=14 and select the meeting for which you’d like to provide a comment, then click on the agenda pdf for the meeting, and there will be specific instructions about submitting a comment, and attending the meeting.

The code revisions are located under the Planning Commission Meeting documents, located at https://www.cityoflfp.com/593/Town-Center-Process (scroll down and find documents with the phrases “code updates” or “design guidelines”).




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LFP Planning Commission slows down the Town Center Zoning Code update process

Sunday, May 17, 2020

LFP Planning Commission
Photo courtesy City of Lake Forest Park

By Tracy Furutani

The Lake Forest Park Planning Commission decided to slow down the process of updating the zoning code for the LFP Town Center project at their meeting last Tuesday. 

“We made…the decision this evening to take this process slower, be more contemplative about it,” said Committee Chair Joel Paisner, “in light of the emergency before us.”

The decision was made in order to make sure the Commission’s process was clear to LFP residents, and to be able to gather public comment during the conditions imposed by the state “stay at home” order. 

At the same time, city staff, project consultants and the Commission will continue to explore various designs and alternatives for aspects of the Town Center project. Speaking on background, a commissioner said that work on planning for zoning changes had to continue under the conditions of the moratorium that the LFP City Council passed originally last year, and set to expire in September.

“While OTAK [the consulting firm] and our planning director have been working together to create these draft documents, the schedule and some draft language in this code that we’ll look at,” said Commission Vice-Chair Maddy Larson, 
“at the end of the day, the same as with the [ST3 parking] garage, we’ll make a decision on what language we support and what language we don’t support; this is just a starting place for our conversations.”

“We are working on the code that we’ve been working on for the last year plus,” said commissioner Richard Saunders, stressing that no new code was being presented for approval.
The sixteen written public comments presented at the beginning of the meeting were uniformly concerned about a perceived lack of sufficient opportunity for people to comment on the potential zoning code revisions. 

“I’m very glad that the community are paying attention,” said Larson. The Commission will ask the City Council to provide a Town Center process update to LFP residents.

LFP resident Randi Sibonga, who made one of the public comments at the meeting, said, “In making the decision last night to set its own timeline to fully study, deliberate and obtain citizen input on revisions to the Town Center code, our Planning Commission demonstrated its firm commitment to public engagement, transparency and the establishment of a development plan for the Town Center property that is consistent with the 2019 adopted Vision.”

In a separate move, Paisner said he would not continue as chair, and that the process of finding a new chair would begin at the next meeting.

The June 9 meeting of the Commission will consider height, density and setback issues, and the July 14 meeting will focus on open space, environmentally-friendly practices and storm drainage. All meetings are open to the public.



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Lake Forest Park council meetings will happen as planned

Friday, March 6, 2020

Update on City Meetings – Week of March 9

Lake Forest Park currently anticipates holding City Council meetings the week of March 9.

The LFP Planning Commission meeting Mar 12 will take place.

General advice:
  • We urge anyone who is sick to not attend.
  • We encourage those who are at higher risk for Coronavirus (COVID-19) to not attend.
  • If you do choose to attend, as much as possible, please give each other more physical space, so that you are not in close contact with each other.
  • Maintain good healthy habits, such as frequent hand washing.
Other Options for Lake Forest Park:

There will be no Shoreline City Council meeting March 9 because Councilmembers will be attending the National League of Cities Conference in Washington DC. The next Council meeting will be Monday March 16, 2020.



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LFP City Council approves extension of moratorium on Town Center zoning changes

Thursday, March 5, 2020

Parcel map of Town Center
The Lake Forest Park City Council unanimously approved the extension of the moratorium on changes in zoning to the Town Center property last Thursday night.

The original moratorium, approved last September, was set to expire in mid-March, and the approved ordinance extends that until mid-September.

The city Planning Commission has been holding extra meetings during the original moratorium, gathering public comments and debating different ways of accommodating various stakeholders as they consider changes to the property’s zoning, according to City Councilmember John Wright.

The Mayor and many Councilmembers praised the work of the Planning Commission, and, in a separate action, re-appointed incumbent commissioners T.L. Fudge, Rachael Katz, and Ira Gross for another four-year term.

“We don’t need to become the same thing as the communities on either side [of Lake Forest Park] have become, with their high-density zoning,” said one resident during the public comment period. 

This sentiment was echoed by all but one of the roughly dozen spoken and written comments that the city received. The lone comment opposing the moratorium extension was presented by a representative of Seattle King County Realtors, an industry association. There was no comment from Merlone-Geier Partners, the owners of Town Center.

--Tracy Furutani



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Public hearing Thursday re moratorium on Town Center Zone Development

Wednesday, February 26, 2020

Town Center land parcels
King County iMap

The Lake Forest Park City Council has scheduled a public hearing on Thursday, February 27, 2020, at 7:00pm, in the City Council Chambers, to consider an ordinance extending the six-month moratorium on Town Center Zone Development.

In September 2019, the City Council adopted Ordinance 1197, placing a six-month moratorium on all properties located within the Town Center Zone in regard to acceptance, processing, and/or approval of clear and grade permit, building permit, subdivision, short subdivision, bind site plan, conditional use permit, variance, or any other type of development permit or approval for any proposed land use(s) or structure(s) located within the Town Center zone.

Although the Planning Commission has held an extra meeting each month since the moratorium was put in place, additional time is needed to fully consider amendments to the existing land use code.

The proposed six-month extension would provide the Planning Commission the time needed to complete and provide its recommended changes to the City Council and allow sufficient time for the Council to consider those recommendations.

Interested parties are invited to attend and comment during the upcoming public hearing. To review the agenda materials for this item, click here.



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LFP Council CoW meets Monday; LFP Planning Commission Tuesday

Monday, February 24, 2020

The Lake Forest Park City Council Committee of the Whole will meet Monday, February 24, 2020 at 6pm in the Lake Forest room of City Hall, 17425 Ballinger Way, to discuss the following:


  1. Update from Planning Commission
  2. Update on Regional Transportation Funding
  3. Governance Manual Discussion

The Lake Forest Park Planning Commission will meet Tuesday, February 25, 2020 at 7pm in the Council Chambers of City Hall.

They will continue: 
  • Final review of freestanding parking structure regulations
  • Final review of administration (design review) and development agreement
  • provisions

And the Discussion of freestanding parking structure design guidelines






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